Definition:Music Therapy is the clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship by a credentialed professional who has completed an approved music therapy program.

Music Therapy is an established health profession in which music is used within a therapeutic relationship to address physical, emotional, cognitive, and social needs of individuals. After assessing the strengths and needs of each client, the qualified music therapist provides the indicated treatment including creating, singing, moving to, and/or listening to music. Through musical involvement in the therapeutic context, clients’ abilities are strengthened and transferred to other areas of their lives. Music therapy also provides avenues for communication that can be helpful to those who find it difficult to express themselves in words. Research in music therapy supports its effectiveness in many areas such as: overall physical rehabilitation and facilitating movement, increasing people’s motivation to become engaged in their treatment, providing emotional support for clients and their families, and providing an outlet for expression of feelings.

Music therapy is the use of interventions to accomplish individual goals within a therapeutic relationship by a professional who has completed an approved music therapy program. Music therapy is an allied health profession and one of the expressive therapies, consisting of a process in which a music therapist uses music and all of its facets—physical, emotional, mental, social, aesthetic, and spiritual—to help clients improve their physical and mental health. Music therapists primarily help clients improve their health in several domains, such as cognitive functioning, motor skills, emotional development, social skills, and quality of life, by using music experiences such as free improvisation, singing, and listening to, discussing, and moving to music to achieve treatment goals. It has a wide qualitative and quantitative research literature base and incorporates clinical therapy, psychotherapy, biomusicology, musical acoustics, music theory, psychoacoustics, embodied music cognition, aesthetics of music, sensory integration, and comparative musicology. Referrals to music therapy services may be made by other health care professionals such as physicians, psychologists, physical therapists, and occupational therapists. Clients can also choose to pursue music therapy services without a referral (i.e., self-referral).

Music therapists are found in nearly every area of the helping professions. Some commonly found practices include developmental work (communication, motor skills, etc.) with individuals with special needs, songwriting and listening in reminiscence/orientation work with the elderly, processing and relaxation work, and rhythmic entrainment for physical rehabilitation in stroke victims. Music therapy is also used in some medical hospitals, cancer centers, schools, alcohol and drug recovery programs, psychiatric hospitals, and correctional facilities.History:
Music has been used as a healing implement for centuries. Apollo is the ancient Greek god of music and of medicine. Aesculapius was said to cure diseases of the mind by using song and music, and music therapy was used in Egyptian temples. Plato said that music affected the emotions and could influence the character of an individual. Aristotle taught that music affects the soul and described music as a force that purified the emotions. Aulus Cornelius Celsus advocated the sound of cymbals and running water for the treatment of mental disorders. Music therapy was practiced in biblical times, when David played the harp to rid King Saul of a bad spirit. As early as 400 B.C., Hippocrates played music for mental patients. In the thirteenth century, Arab hospitals contained music-rooms for the benefit of the patients. In the United States, Native American medicine men often employed chants and dances as a method of healing patients. The Turco-Persian psychologist and music theorist al-Farabi (872–950), known as Alpharabius in Europe, dealt with music therapy in his treatise Meanings of the Intellect, in which he discussed the therapeutic effects of music on the soul. Robert Burton wrote in the 17th century in his classic work, The Anatomy of Melancholy, that music and dance were critical in treating mental illness, especially melancholia. Music therapy as we know it began in the aftermath of World Wars I and II, when, particularly in the United Kingdom, musicians would travel to hospitals and play music for soldiers suffering from war-related emotional and physical trauma.

Music therapists may work with individuals who have behavioral-emotional disorders. To meet the needs of this population, music therapists have taken current psychological theories and used them as a basis for different types of music therapy. Different models include behavioral therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and psychodynamic therapy.

One therapy model based on neuroscience, called “neurological music therapy” (NMT), is “based on a neuroscience model of music perception and production, and the influence of music on functional changes in non-musical brain and behavior functions. In other words, NMT studies how the brain is without music, how the brain is with music, measures the differences, and uses these differences to cause changes in the brain through music that will eventually affect the client non-musically. As one researcher, Dr. Thaut, said: “The brain that engages in music is changed by engaging in music.” NMT trains motor responses (i.e. tapping foot or fingers, head movement, etc.) to better help clients develop motor skills that help “entrain the timing of muscle activation patterns.

Music therapy approaches used with Children:Paul Nordoff, a Juilliard School graduate and Professor of Music, was a gifted pianist and composer who, upon seeing disabled children respond so positively to music, gave up his academic career to further investigate the possibility of music as a means for therapy. Dr. Clive Robbins, a special educator, partnered with Nordoff for over 17 years in the exploration and research of music’s effects on disabled children- first in the United Kingdom, and then in the USA in the 1950s and 60s. Their pilot projects included placements at care units for autistic children and child psychiatry departments, where they put programs in place for children with mental disorders, emotional disturbances, developmental delays, and other handicaps. Their success at establishing a means of communication and relationship with autistic children at the University of Pennsylvania gave rise to the National Institutes of Health’s first grant given of this nature, and the 5-year study “Music Therapy Project for Psychotic Children Under Seven at the Day Care Unit” involved research, publication, training and treatment. Several publications, including Therapy in Music for Handicapped Children, Creative Music Therapy, Music Therapy in Special Education, as well as instrumental and song books for children, were released during this time. Nordoff and Robbins’s success became known globally in the mental health community, and they were invited to share their findings and offer training on an international tour that lasted several years. Funds were granted to support the founding of the Nordoff Robbins Music Therapy Centre in Great Britain in 1974, where a one-year Graduate program for students was implemented. In the early eighties, a center was opened in Australia, and various programs and institutes for Music Therapy were founded in Germany and other countries. In the United States, the Nordoff-Robbins Center for Music Therapy was established at New York University in 1989.

The Nordoff-Robbins approach, based on the belief that everyone is capable of finding meaning in and benefitting from musical experience, is now practiced by hundreds of therapists internationally. It focuses on treatment through the creation of music by both therapist and client together. Various techniques are used to accommodate all capabilities so that even the most low functioning individuals are able to participate actively.

Assessment and interventions :
As with any type of therapy, the practice of Music Therapy with children must uphold standards of conduct and ethics, agreed upon by national and provincial associations such as the Canadian Association for Music Therapy. In part with this, formal assessment is crucial for understanding the child – their background, limitations and needs, as well as to create appropriate goals for the process and select the means of achieving them. This serves as the starting point from which to measure the client’s progression throughout the therapeutic process and to make adjustments later, if necessary. Similarly to how assessments are conducted with adults, the music therapist obtains extensive data on the client including their full medical history, musical (ability to duplicate a melody or identify changes in rhythm, etc.) and nonmusical functioning (social, physical/motor, emotional, etc.). The assessment process is then carried out in formal, informal, and standardized ways.

Information gathered at the music therapy assessment is then used to determine if music therapy is indicated for the child. The therapist then formulates a music therapy treatment plan, which includes specific short-term objectives, long-term goals, and an expected timeline for therapy.

Music therapy interventions used with children can fall into two categories. The first, Supportive active therapy, is product- oriented and can included rhythm activities such as body percussion (stomping feet, clapping hands, etc.), singing songs which re-inforce nonmusical skills, awareness and expression, or movement to music (as simple as marching to the beat, as complex as structured dances). The second area is called Insight music therapy which is process-oriented. Activities could include song-writing, active listening and reacting, or auditory discrimination activities for sensory skill development. Music therapy for children is conducted either in a one-on-one session or in a group session. The therapist typically plays either a piano or a guitar, which allows for a wide variety of musical styles to suit the client’s preferences. The child is usually encouraged to play an instrument adapted to his or her unique abilities and needs. These elements are designed to improve the experience and outcome of the therapy.

DIFFERENT BENEFITS OF MUSIC THERAPY:

Prenatal music therapy:
Music Therapy can play an important role during pregnancy. At just 16 weeks, a fetus is able to hear their mother’s speech as well as singing. Through technologies, such as ultrasound, health care professionals are able to observe the movements of the unborn child responding to musical stimuli. Through these fetal observations, we see that the baby is capable of expressing its needs, preferences, and interests through movements in the womb. At the beginning of the second trimester, the ear structure is fully matured. By this time, the fetus will begin to hear not only maternal sounds, but also vibrations of instruments…..CLICK & SEE :

Prenatal music therapy has three main bennefits:

1.Prenatal Stress Relief: Pregnant women may experience high levels of stress which can negatively affect the baby. This will cause the body will release Norepinephrine and Cortisol hormones which will increase blood pressure and weaken the immune system of both mother and child. High levels of cortisol exposure in early development can increase the likelihood of the child later having anxiety, mental retardation, autism, and depression. Music therapists use music to elevate the stress threshold of an expectant mother which helps her to maintain a relaxed state during labour and birthing process. During a music therapy session, the mother is guided to listen to her internal rhythms, as well as listing to the movements and reactions of the fetus in response to her voice and music. This technique is useful in helping reduce the mother’s level of stress, and prepare her for the birth of her child.

2.Maternal-Fetal Bonding: Communication between the mother and fetus is essential during pregnancy. One way of strengthening the bond between the two is through music therapy. Music stimulation helps to develop the fetus’s nervous system, structurally and functionally. The unborn child especially prefers the voice of their mother. The most effective way to enhance communication is through singing. Lullabies are the most popular songs sung by mothers. Singing lullabies is a wonderful way for mothers to express their love and have the baby become familiarized with their mother’s melodies and intonations which will provide them a sense of security when they are born, because it will feel just like how they were in the womb. Electronic voice phenomena studies have shown that the father’s voice engages the fetus from feet to the abdomen – which will lead the baby to start walking at a younger age. The mother’s voice engages the fetus from waist to head which will strengthen the baby’s neck and upper limbs. Not only does prenatal singing benefit the fetus, it also help produce endorphins that automatically reduce the perception of pain and help relax breathing. A fetus can show preference for music; observations have shown the fetus’s movements are gentle when listening to soothing music, and comparatively, where there are dissonances included in the music, their movements are bigger and much more rhythmic, such as rolling. The fetus would be comforted by hearing slow-pace passages of Baroque music (Vivaldi and Handel) and lullabies sung by their mother.

3.Prenatal Language Development: Music is said to be the unborn child’s beginning of language learning. It can be consider as a pre-linguistic language that prepares the Auditory Sensory System to listen, combine, and produce language sounds. The fetus learns through the voice of their mother, not only from speech but songs. The sound is received by the baby through bone conduction when the mother speaks. The singing voice is said to have a wider range of frequencies than speech. Prenatal sounds are important during the prenatal period because it forms the basis of future learning and behaviour.

Music therapy for premature infants:
Music therapy has been shown to be very beneficial in stimulating growth and development in premature infants. Premature infants are those born at 37 weeks or less gestational stage. They are subject to numerous struggles, such as abnormal breathing patterns, decreased body fat and muscle tissue, as well as feeding issues. The coordination for sucking and breathing is often not fully developed, making feeding a challenge. The improved developmental activity and behavioural status of premature infants when they are discharged from the NICU, is directly related to the stimulation programs and interventions they benefited from during hospitalization, such as music therapy.

Music is typically conducted by a musical therapist in Neonatal Intensive Care (NICU), with five main techniques designed to benefit premature infants;

1.Live or Recorded Music: Live or recorded music has been effective in promoting respiratory regularity and oxygen saturation levels, as well as decreasing signs of neonatal distress. Since premature infants have sensitive and immature sensory modalities, music is often performed in a gentle and control environment, either in the form of audio recordings or live vocalization, although live singing has been shown to have a greater affect. Live music also reduces the physiological responses in parents. Studies have shown that by combining live music, such as harp music, with the Kangaroo Care, maternal anxiety is reduced. This allows for parents, especially mothers to spend important time bonding with their premature infants. Female singing voices are also more affective at soothing premature infants. Despite being born premature, infants show a preference for the sound of a female singing voice, making it more beneficial than instrumental music.

2.Promote Healthy Sucking Reflex: By using a Pacifier-Actived Lullaby Device, music therapists can help promote stronger sucking reflexes, while also reducing pain perception for the infant. The Gato Box is a small rectangular instrument that stimulates a prenatal heartbeat sound in a soft and rhythmic manner that has also been effective in aiding sucking behaviours.[41] The music therapist uses their fingers to tap on the drum, rather than using a mallet. The rhythm supports movement when feeding and promotes healthy sucking patterns. By increasing sucking patterns, babies are able to coordinate the important dual mechanisms of breathing, sucking and swallowing needed to feed, thus promoting growth and weight gain. When this treatment proves effective, infants are able to leave the hospital earlier.

3.Multimodal Stimulation and Music: By combining music, such as lullabies, and multimodal stimulation, premature infants were discharged from the NICU sooner, than those infants who did not receive therapy. Multimodal stimulation includes the applications of auditory, tactile, vestibular, and visual stimulation that helps aid in premature infant development. The combination of music and MMS helps premature infants sleep and conserve vital energy required to gain weight more rapidly. Studies have shown that girls respond more positively than boys during multimodal stimulation.[ While the voice is a popular choice for parents looking to bond with their premature infants, other effective instruments include the Remo Ocean Disk and the Gato Box. Both are used to stimulate the sounds of the womb. The Remo Ocean Disk, a round musical instrument that mimics the fluid sounds of the womb, has been shown to benefit decreased heart rate after therapeutic uses, as well as promoting healthy sleep patterns, lower respiratory rates and improve sucking behavior.

4.Infant Stimulation: This type of intervention uses musical stimulation to compensate for the lack of normal environmental sensory stimulation found in the NICU. The sound environment the NICU provides can be disruptive; however, music therapy can mask unwanted auditory stimuli and promote a calm environment that reduces the complications for high-risk or failure-to-thrive infants. Parent-infant bonding can also be affected by the noise of the NICU, which in turn can delay the interactions between parents and their premature infants. But music therapy creates a relaxed and peaceful environment for parents to speak and spend time with their babies while incubated.

5.Parent-Infant Bonding: Therapists work with parents so they may perform infant-directed singing techniques, as well as home care. Singing lullabies therapeutically can promote relaxation and decrease heart rate in premature infants. By calming premature babies, it allows for them to preserve their energy, which creates a stable environment for growth. Lullabies, such as “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”, or other culturally relevant lullabies, have been shown to greatly soothe babies. These techniques can also improve overall sleep quality, caloric intake and feeding behaviours, which aids in development of the baby while they are still in the NICU. Singing has also shown greater results on oxygen saturation levels for infants while incubated, more than mothers speech alone. This technique promoted high levels of oxygen for longer periods of time.

Music therapy in child rehabilitation:
Music therapy has multiple benefits which contribute to the maintenance of health and the drive toward rehabilitation for children. Advanced technology that can monitor cortical activity offers a look at how music engages and produces changes in the brain during the perception and production of musical stimuli. Music therapy, when used with other rehabilitation methods, has increased the success rate of sensorimotor, cognitive, and communication rehabilitation. Music therapy intervention programs can include an average of 18 sessions of treatment. The achievement of a physical rehabilitation goal relies on the child’s existing motivation and feelings towards music and their commitment to engage in meaningful, rewarding efforts. Regaining full functioning also confides in the prognosis of recovery, the condition of the client, and the environmental resources available. Sessions may consist of either active techniques, where the client creates music, or receptive techniques, where the client listens to, analyze, move and respond to music. Both techniques use systematic processes where the therapists assist the client by using musical experiences and connections that collaborate as a dynamic force of change toward rehabilitation. The music is at times chosen by the client, or by the music therapist based on the clients reciprocation to the music.

Music has many calming and soothing properties that can be used as a sedative in rehabilitation. For example, a patient with chronic pain may decrease the physiological result of stress, and draw attention away from the pain by focusing on music. Music has the ability to associate physiological changes in the body and elicit physiological responses such as pulse rate, respiration rate, blood pressure, and muscle tension. Music may also stimulate a calming effect of the cardiovascular system.

Music therapy used in child rehabilitation has had a substantial emphasis on sensorimotor development including; balance and position, locomotion, agility, mobility, range of motion, strength, laterality and directionality. By using music during senorimotor rehabilitation, it allows clients to express themselves and motivates them to learn the active joint range of motion and motor coordination in which they are aiming to acquire. For example, clients with a brain injury may lack the ability to initiate movement. The intensely captivating and attention enhancing quality of music motivates clients to participate in physical activity or exercise by easing the discomfort and strenuousness of the physical rehabilitation and helps the client persevere without being conscious of the difficulty. Music can be an element of distraction, allowing the client to transcend into a positive, aesthetically-pleasing state that is beneficial to achieving their goals.[48] Research suggests a strong connection between motor activation and the cueing of musical rhythm. Rhythmic stimuli has been found to help balance training for those with a brain injury. Repetition of proficient rhythmic qualities will stimulate participants so that the abrasive beats will synchronize with neural activity during a rhythmic motor task. For example, clients with hemiplegia gain improvement of posture stability, and consistency of symmetrical strides and regularity in step lengths when listening to music with strong rhythmic beats.

Music therapy rehabilitation sessions that incorporate active techniques involve the client producing the music themselves. This may include the client making a musical composition, or performing by singing or chanting, playing instruments, or musically improvising. Singing is a form of rehabilitation for neurological impairments. Neurological impairments following a brain injury can be in the form of apraxia – loss to perform purposeful movements, dysarthria –muscle control disturbances due to damage of the central nervous system), aphasia (defect in expression causing distorted speech), or language comprehension. Singing training has been found to improve lung, speech clarity, and coordination of speech muscles, thus, accelerating rehabilitation of such neurological impairments. For example, melodic intonation therapy is the practice of communicating with others by singing to enhance speech or increase speech production by promoting socialization, and emotional expression.

When having the child actively participate with an instrument, it is especially important for the therapist to provide them with an instrument that they can readily and easily use. Clients with limited physical abilities may express frustration when they are not able to control their environment. The ability to employ and operate a musical instrument provides them a sense of relaxation and accomplishment. Instruments must be selected to provide immediately successful experiences. Certain adaptions of the instruments may be required in order for the people to manipulate them. For example, a drumstick’s handle should be manipulated to be more prominent for those clients that may have a weak grip. Electric music-making devices have been adapted to fit the clients limited but existing movements, strength, and abilities. Electronic devices, such as the Sound Beam and the Wave Rider- read a variety of small movements made by the clients and converts the movements into electronic musical information. The devices are programmed to create easy, yet pleasing notes and sounds in coordination to the participants’ movements. It is also crucial for the client to be aware that music making is simply a modality for rehabilitation and that their wellness is not dependent on their existing musical skills. It provides children with an outlet of expression that they may have lacked in the past or due to present circumstances. By accomplishing the production of musical sounds despite their weaknesses and disabilities, it encourages the client and relieves their anxiety that they may acquire at the thought of playing musical instrument without experience. By using such adaptive music devices, it grants client’s the ability to create sounds that are originally expressive and allows them to experience affirmation –a feeling of capability to control ones own environment- an ability they may not be familiar with.

Music therapy and children with autism:
Music therapy can be a particularly useful when working with children with autism due to the nonverbal, non-threatening nature of the medium.[51] Studies have shown that children with autism have difficulty with joint attention, symbolic communication and sharing of positive affect. Use of music therapy has demonstrated improvements of socially acceptable behaviors. Wan, Demaine, Zipse, Norton, & Schlaug (2010) found singing and music making may engage areas of the brain related to language abilities, and that music facilitated the language, social, and motor skills. Successful therapy involves long-term individual intervention tailored to each child’s needs. Passing and sharing instruments, music and movement games, learning to listen and singing greetings and improvised stories are just a few ways music therapy can improve a child’s social interaction. For example passing a ball back and forth to percussive music or playing sticks and cymbals with another person might help foster the child’s ability to follow directions when passing the ball and learn to share the cymbals and sticks. In addition to improved social behaviors music therapy has been shown to also increase communication attempts, increase focus and attention, reduce anxiety, and improve body awareness and coordination.

Since up to 30 per cent of children with autism are nonverbal and many have difficulty understanding verbal commands music therapy becomes very useful as it has been found that music can improve the mapping of sounds to actions. So by pairing music with actions, and with many hours of training the neural pathways for speech can be improved. Child-appropriate action songs would be like playing the game “peek-ka-boo” or “eeny meeny miney mo” with a musical accompaniment, usually a piano or guitar.

Children with autism are also prone to more bouts of anxiety than the average child. Short sessions (15 – 20 mins) of listening to percussive music or classical music with a steady rhythm have been shown to alleviate symptoms of anxiety and temporarily decrease anxiety-related behaviour. Music with a steady 4/4 beat is thought to work best due to the predictability of the beat.

Target behaviours such as restlessness, aggression and noisiness can also be affected by the use of music therapy. Weekly sessions ranging for ½ hour to 1 hour during which a therapist plays child-preferred melodies such as Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and engages the child in quiet singing increases socially acceptable behaviour such as using an appropriate volume when speaking. Studies also suggest that playing one of the child’s favorite songs while the child and therapist both play the piano or strum chords on a guitar can increase a child’s ability to hold eye contact and share in an experience due to their enjoyment of the therapy.

Musical improvisation during a one on one session has also been shown to be highly effective with increasing joint attention. Some noted improvisation techniques are using a welcome song that includes the child’s name, which allows the child to get used to their surroundings; an adult-led song followed by a child led song and then conclude with a goodbye song. During such sessions the child would most likely sit across from the therapist on the floor or beside the therapist on the piano bench. Composing original music that incorporates the child’s day-to-day life with actions and words is also a part of improvisation. The shared music making experience allows for spontaneous interpersonal responses from the child and may motivate the child to increase positive social behaviour and initiate further interaction with the therapist.

Some common instruments in music therapy for children are:

Upright piano, Guitar, Xylophone, Small guiro, Paddle drums, Egg shakers, Finger cymbals, Birdcalls, Whistles, & Toy hand bells.
Music therapy has also been recognized as a method for children with autism. Music therapy helps stabilize moods, increase frustration tolerance, identify a range of emotions, and improve self-expression along with much more. The visual and auditory sensory system is responsible for interpreting sounds and images. With autistic children, if a sound or image is unpleasant the child may not have the ability to express itself, which makes it difficult for a therapist, parent, etc. to interpret. Music engages the brain in both sub-coritcal and neo-cortical levels, which means it is not critical to ‘think’ while listening to music when hearing the notes and sounds. Music therapy, in the topic of austism’s sensory interpretation, provides repetitive stimuli which aim to “teach” the brain other possible ways to respond that might be more useful as they grow olde.Music therapy for Adolescents:

Mood disorders:
According to the Mayo Health Clinic, two to three thousand out of every 100,000 adolescents will have mood disorders, and out of those two to three thousand, eight to ten will commit suicide. Two prevalent mood disorders in the adolescent population are clinical depression and bipolar disorder.

On average, American adolescents listen to approximately 4.5 hours of music per day and are responsible for 70% of pop music sales. Now, with the invention of new technologies such as the iPod and digital downloads, access to music has become easier than ever. As children make the transition into adolescence they become less likely to sit and watch TV, an activity associated with family, and spend more of their leisure time listening to music, an activity associated with friends.

Adolescents obtain many benefits from listening to music, including emotional, social, and daily life benefits, along with help in forming their identity. Music can provide a sense of independence and individuality, which in turn contributes to an adolescent’s self-discovery and sense of identity. Music also offers adolescents relatable messages that allow them to take comfort in knowing that others feel the same way they do. It can also serve as a creative outlet to release or control emotions and find ways of coping with difficult situations. Music can improve an adolescent’s mood by reducing stress and lowering anxiety levels, which can help counteract or prevent depression. Music education programs provide adolescents with a safe place to express themselves and learn life skills such as self-discipline, diligence, and patience. These programs also promote confidence and self-esteem. Ethnomusicologist Alan Merriam (1964) once stated that music is a universal behavior – it is something with which everyone can identify. Among adolescents, music is a unifying force, bringing people of different backgrounds, age groups, and social groups together.

Referrals and assessments;
While many adolescents may listen to music for its therapeutic qualities, it does not mean every adolescent needs music therapy. Many adolescents go through a period of teenage angst characterized by intense feelings of strife that are caused by the development of their brains and bodies. Some adolescents develop more serious mood disorders such as major clinical depression and bipolar disorder. Adolescents diagnosed with a mood disorder may be referred to a music therapist by a physician, therapist, or school counselor/teacher. When a music therapist gets a referral, he or she must first assess the patient and then create goals and objectives before beginning the actual therapy. According to the American Music Therapy Association Standards of Clinical Practice assessments should include the “general categories of psychological, cognitive, communicative, social, and physiological functioning focusing on the client’s needs and strengths…and will also determine the client’s response to music, music skills, and musical preferences” The result of the assessment is used to create an individualized music therapy intervention plan.

Treatment techniques:
There are many different music therapy techniques used with adolescents. The music therapy model is based on various theoretical backgrounds such as psychodynamic, behavioral, and humanistic approaches. Techniques can be classified as active vs. receptive and improvisational vs. structured. The most common techniques in use with adolescents are musical improvisation, the use of precomposed songs or music, receptive listening to music, verbal discussion about the music, and incorporating creative media outlets into the therapy. Research also showed that improvisation and the use of other media were the two techniques most often used by the music therapists. The overall research showed that adolescents in music therapy “change more when discipline-specific music therapy techniques, such as improvisation and verbal reflection of the music, are used.” The results of this study showed that music therapists should put careful thought into their choice of technique with each individual client. In the end, those choices can affect the outcome of the treatment.

To those unfamiliar with music therapy the idea may seem a little strange, but music therapy has been found to be as effective as traditional forms of therapy. In a meta-analysis of the effects of music therapy for children and adolescents with psychopathology, Gold, Voracek, and Wigram (2004) looked at ten studies conducted between 1970 and 1998 to examine the overall efficacy of music therapy on children and adolescents with behavioral, emotional, and developmental disorders. The results of the meta-analysis found that “music therapy with these clients has a highly significant, medium to large effect on clinically relevant outcomes.” More specifically, music therapy was most effective on subjects with mixed diagnoses. Another important result was that “the effects of music therapy are more enduring when more sessions are provided.”

One example of clinical work is that done by music therapists who work with adolescents to increase their emotional and cognitive stability, identify factors contributing to distress and initiate changes to alleviate that distress. Music therapy may also focus on improving quality of life and building self-esteem, a sense self-worth, and confidence. Improvements in these areas can be measured by a number of tests, including qualitative questionnaires like Beck’s Depression Inventory, State and Trait Anxiety Inventory, and Relationship Change Scale.[65] Effects of music therapy can also be observed in the patient’s demeanor, body language, and changes in awareness of mood.

Two main methods for music therapy are group meetings and one-one sessions. Group music therapy can include group discussions concerning moods and emotions in or toward music, songwriting, and musical improvisation. Groups emphasizing mood recognition and awareness, group cohesion, and improvement in self-esteem can be effective in working with adolescents. Group therapy, however, is not always the best choice for the client. Ongoing one-on-one music therapy has also been shown to be effective. One-on-one music therapy provides a non-invasive, non-judgmental environment, encouraging clients to show capacities that may be hidden in group situations.

Music Therapy in which clients play musical instruments directly, show very promising results. Specifically, playing wind instruments strengthens oral and respiratory muscles, sound vocalization, articulation, and improves breath support.[68] Symbolic Communication Training Through Musicis also an important technique in playing instruments in music therapy, because this makes communication (verbally and non verbally) improved in social situations. Most importantly, is that music provides a time cue for the body to remain regulated. Making music is also important for people of all ages because it causes motivation, increases “psychomotor” activity, causes an individual to identify with a group (in group music), regulates breathing, improves organizational skills, and increases coordination.

Though more research needs to be done to ascertain the effect of music therapy on adolescents with mood disorders, most research has shown positive effects.Music therapy for Medical disorders:

Heart disease:
According to a 2009 Cochrane review some music may reduce heart rate, respiratory rate, and blood pressure in those with coronary heart disease. Music does not appear to have much effect on psychological distress. “The quality of the evidence is not strong and the clinical significance unclear”.

Neurological disorders:
The use of music therapy in treating mental and neurological disorders is on the rise. Music therapy has showed effectiveness in treating symptoms of many disorders, including schizophrenia, amnesia, dementia and Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease, mood disorders such as depression, aphasia and similar speech disorders, and Tourette’s syndrome, among others.

While music therapy has been used for many years, up until the mid-1980s little empirical research had been done to support the efficacy of the treatment. Since then, more research has focused on determining both the effectiveness and the underlying physiological mechanisms leading to symptom improvement. For example, one meta-study covering 177 patients (over 9 studies) showed a significant effect on many negative symptoms of psychopathologies, particularly in developmental and behavioral disorders. Music therapy was especially effective in improving focus and attention, and in decreasing negative symptoms like anxiety and isolation.

The following sections will discuss the uses and effectiveness of music therapy in the treatment of specific pathologies.

Stroke:…click & see
Music has been shown to affect portions of the brain. One reason for the effectiveness of music therapy for stroke victims is the capacity of music to affect emotions and social interactions. Research by Nayak et al. showed that music therapy is associated with a decrease in depression, improved mood, and a reduction in state anxiety. Both descriptive and experimental studies have documented effects of music on quality of life, involvement with the environment, expression of feelings, awareness and responsiveness, positive associations, and socialization. Additionally, Nayak et al. found that music therapy had a positive effect on social and behavioral outcomes and showed some encouraging trends with respect to mood.

More recent research suggests that music can increase a patient’s motivation and positive emotions. Current research also suggests that when music therapy is used in conjunction with traditional therapy it improves success rates significantly. Therefore, it is hypothesized that music therapy helps a victim of stroke recover faster and with more success by increasing the patient’s positive emotions and motivation, allowing him or her to be more successful and feel more driven to participate in traditional therapies.

Recent studies have examined the effect of music therapy on stroke patients when combined with traditional therapy. One study found the incorporation of music with therapeutic upper extremity exercises gave patients more positive emotional effects than exercise alone. In another study, Nayak et al. found that rehabilitation staff rated participants in the music therapy group more actively involved and cooperative in therapy than those in the control group. Their findings gave preliminary support to the efficacy of music therapy as a complementary therapy for social functioning and participation in rehabilitation with a trend toward improvement in mood during acute rehabilitation.

Current research shows that when music therapy is used in conjunction with traditional therapy, it improves rates of recovery and emotional and social deficits resulting from stroke. A study by Jeong & Kim examined the impact of music therapy when combined with traditional stroke therapy in a community-based rehabilitation program. Thirty-three stroke survivors were randomized into one of two groups: the experimental group, which combined rhythmic music and specialized rehabilitation movement for eight weeks; and a control group that sought and received traditional therapy. The results of this study showed that participants in the experimental group gained not only more flexibility and wider range of motion, but an increased frequency and quality of social interactions and positive mood.

Music has proven useful in the recovery of motor skills. Rhythmical auditory stimulation in a musical context in combination with traditional gait therapy improved the ability of stroke patients to walk. The study consisted of two treatment conditions, one which received traditional gait therapy and another which received the gait therapy in combination with the rhythmical auditory stimulation. During the rhythmical auditory stimulation, stimulation was played back measure by measure, and was initiated by the patient’s heel-strikes. Each condition received fifteen sessions of therapy. The results revealed that the rhythmical auditory stimulation group showed more improvement in stride length, symmetry deviation, walking speed and rollover path length (all indicators for improved walking gait) than the group that received traditional therapy alone.

Schneider et al. also studied the effects of combining music therapy with standard motor rehabilitation methods.[80] In this experiment, researchers recruited stroke patients without prior musical experience and trained half of them in an intensive step by step training program that occurred fifteen times over three weeks, in addition to traditional treatment. These participants were trained to use both fine and gross motor movements by learning how to use the piano and drums. The other half of the patients received only traditional treatment over the course of the three weeks. Three-dimensional movement analysis and clinical motor tests showed participants who received the additional music therapy had significantly better speed, precision, and smoothness of movement as compared to the control subjects. Participants who received music therapy also showed a significant improvement in every-day motor activities as compared to the control group.[80] Wilson, Parsons, & Reutens looked at the effect of melodic intonation therapy (MIT) on speech production in a male singer with severe Broca’s aphasia.[82] In this study, thirty novel phrases were taught in three conditions: unrehearsed, rehearsed verbal production (repetition), or rehearsed verbal production with melody (MIT). Results showed that phrases taught in the MIT condition had superior production, and that compared to rehearsal, effects of MIT lasted longer.

Another study examined the incorporation of music with therapeutic upper extremity exercises on pain perception in stroke victims. Over the course of eight weeks, stroke victims participated in upper extremity exercises (of the hand, wrist, and shoulder joints) in conjunction with one of the three conditions: song, karaoke accompaniment, and no music. Patients participated in each condition once, according to a randomized order, and rated their perceived pain immediately after the session. Results showed that although there was no significant difference in pain rating across the conditions, video observations revealed more positive affect and verbal responses while performing upper extremity exercises with both music and karaoke accompaniment. Nayak et al. examined the combination of music therapy with traditional stroke rehabilitation and also found that the addition of music therapy improved mood and social interaction. Participants who had suffered traumatic brain injury or stroke were placed in one of two conditions: standard rehabilitation or standard rehabilitation along with music therapy. Participants received three treatments per week for up to ten treatments. Therapists found that participants who received music therapy in conjunction with traditional methods had improved social interaction and mood.

Dementia:...click & see
Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia are among the disorders most commonly treated with music therapy. Like many of the other disorders mentioned, some of the most common significant effects are seen in social behaviors, leading to improvements in interaction, conversation, and other such skills. A meta-study of over 330 subjects showed music therapy produces highly significant improvements to social behaviors, overt behaviors like wandering and restlessness, reductions in agitated behaviors, and improvements to cognitive defects, measured with reality orientation and face recognition tests. As with many studies of MT’s effectiveness, these positive effects on Alzheimer’s and other dementias are not homogeneous among all studies. The effectiveness of the treatment seems to be strongly dependent on the patient, the quality and length of treatment, and other similar factors.

Another meta-study examined the proposed neurological mechanisms behind music therapy’s effects on these patients. Many authors suspect that music has a soothing effect on the patient by affecting how noise is perceived: music renders noise familiar, or buffers the patient from overwhelming or extraneous noise in their environment. Others suggest that music serves as a sort of mediator for social interactions, providing a vessel through which to interact with others without requiring much cognitive load.

Amnesia:….click & see
Some symptoms of amnesia have been shown to be alleviated through various interactions with music, including playing and listening. One such case is that of Clive Wearing, whose severe retrograde and anterograde amnesia have been detailed in the documentaries Prisoner of Consciousness and The Man with the 7 Second Memory. Though unable to recall past memories or form new ones, Wearing is still able to play, conduct, and sing along with music learned prior to the onset of his amnesia, and even add improvisations and flourishes.

Wearing’s case reinforces the theory that episodic memory fundamentally differs from procedural or semantic memory. Sacks suggests that while Wearing is completely unable to recall events or episodes, musical performance (and the muscle memory involved) are a form of procedural memory that is not typically hindered in amnesia cases [Sacks]. Indeed, there is evidence that while episodic memory is reliant on the hippocampal formation, amnesiacs with damage to this area can show a loss of episodic memory accompanied by (partially) intact semantic memory.

Aphasia:….click & see
Melodic intonation therapy (MIT) is a commonly used method of treating aphasias, particularly those involving speech deficits (as opposed to reading or writing). MIT is a multi-stage treatment that involves committing words and speech rhythm to memory by incorporating them into song. The musical and rhythmic aspects are then separated from the speech and phased out, until the patient can speak normally. This method has slight variations between adult patients and child patients, but both follow the same basic structure.

While MIT is a commonly used therapy, research supporting its effectiveness is lacking. Some recent research suggests that the therapy’s efficacy may stem more from the rhythmic components of the treatment rather than the melodic aspects.Music Therapy for Psychiatric disorders:

Schizophrenia:…click & see
Music therapy is used with schizophrenic patients to ameliorate many of the symptoms of the disorder. Individual studies of patients undergoing music therapy showed diminished negative symptoms such as flattened affect, speech issues, and anhedonia and improved social symptoms such as increased conversation ability, reduced social isolation, and increased interest in external events.

Meta-studies have confirmed many of these results, showing that music therapy in conjunction with standard care to be superior to standard care alone. Improvements were seen in negative symptoms, general mental state, depression, anxiety, and even cognitive functioning. These meta-studies have also shown, however, that these results can be inconsistent and that they depend heavily on both the quality and number of therapy sessions.

Depression:...click & see
Music therapy has been found to have numerous significant outcomes for patients with major depressive disorder. A systematic review of five randomized trials found that people with depression generally accepted music therapy and was found to produce improvements in mood when compared to standard therapy. Another study showed that MDD patients were better able to express their emotional states while listening to sad music than while listening to no music or to happy, angry, or scary music. The authors found that this therapy helped patients overcome verbal barriers to expressing emotion, which can assist therapists in successfully guiding treatment.

Other studies have provided insight into the physiological interactions between music therapy and depression. Music has been shown to decrease significantly the levels of the stress hormone cortisol, leading to improved affect, mood and cognitive functioning. A study also found that music led to a shift in frontal lobe activity (as measured by EEG) in depressed adolescents. Music was shown to shift activity from the right frontal lobe to the left, a phenomenon associated with positive affect and mood.Use of Music Therapy Region wise:

Africa:
Research has shown that in many parts of Africa during male and female circumcision, bone setting, or traditional surgery and bloodletting, lyrical music related to endurance has been used to reduce anticipated pain, therapeutically. In 1999, the first program for music therapy in Africa opened in Pretoria, South Africa. Research has shown that in Tanzania patients can receive palliative care for life-threatening illnesses directly after the diagnosis of these illnesses. This is different from many Western countries, because they reserve palliative care for patients who have an incurable illness. Music is also viewed differently between Africa and Western countries. In Western countries and a majority of other countries throughout the world, music is traditionally seen as entertainment whereas in many African cultures, music is used in recounting stories, celebrating life events, or sending messages

Australia:
In Australia in 1949, music therapy (not clinical music therapy as understood today) was started through concerts organized by the Australian Red Cross along with a Red Cross Music Therapy Committee. The key Australian body, AMTA, the Australian Music Therapy Association, was founded in 1975.

Norway:
Norway is widely recognised as an important country for music therapy research. Its two major research centres are the Center for Music and Health[94] with the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo, and the Grieg Academy Centre for Music Therapy (GAMUT),[95] at University of Bergen. The former was mostly developed by professor Even Ruud, while professor Brynjulf Stige is largely responsible for cultivating the latter. The centre in Bergen includes 3 professors and 2 associate professors, as well as lecturers and PhD students. The centre in Bergen has 18 staff, including 2 professors and 4 associate professors, as well as lecturers and PhD students. Two of the field’s major international research journals are based in Bergen: Nordic Journal for Music Therapy and Voices: A World Forum for Music Therapy. Norway’s main contribution to the field is mostly in the area of “community music therapy”, which tends to be as much oriented toward social work as individual psychotherapy, and music therapy research from this country uses a wide variety of methods to examine diverse methods in across an array of social contexts, including community centres, medical clinics, retirement homes, and prisons.United States:
Music therapy has existed in its current form in the United States since 1944 when the first undergraduate degree program in the world was begun at Michigan State University and the first graduate degree program was established at the University of Kansas. The American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) was founded in 1998 as a merger between the National Association for Music Therapy (NAMT, founded in 1950) and the American Association for Music Therapy (AAMT, founded in 1971). Numerous other national organizations exist, such as the Institute for Music and Neurologic Function, Nordoff-Robbins Center For Music Therapy, and the Association for Music and Imagery. Music therapists use ideas from different disciplines such as speech and language, physical therapy, medicine, nursing, and education.

A music therapy degree candidate can earn an undergraduate, master’s or doctoral degree in music therapy. Many AMTA approved programs offer equivalency and certificate degrees in music therapy for students that have completed a degree in a related field. Some practicing music therapists have held PhDs in fields other than, but usually related to, music therapy. Recently, Temple University established a PhD program in music therapy. A music therapist typically incorporates music therapy techniques with broader clinical practices such as psychotherapy, rehabilitation, and other practices depending on client needs. Music therapy services rendered within the context of a social service, educational, or health care agency are often reimbursable by insurance and sources of funding for individuals with certain needs. Music therapy services have been identified as reimbursable under Medicaid, Medicare, private insurance plans and federal and state government programs.

A degree in music therapy requires proficiency in guitar, piano, voice, music theory, music history, reading music, improvisation, as well as varying levels of skill in assessment, documentation, and other counseling and health care skills depending on the focus of the particular university’s program. A music therapist may hold the designations CMT (Certified Music Therapist), ACMT (Advanced Certified Music Therapist), or RMT (Registered Music Therapist) – credentials previously conferred by the former national organizations AAMT and NAMT ; these credentials remain in force through 2020 and have not been available since 1998. The current credential available is MT-BC. To become board certified, a music therapist must complete a music therapy degree from an accredited AMTA program at a college or university, successfully complete a music therapy internship, and pass the Board Certification Examination in Music Therapy, administered through The Certification Board for Music Therapists. To maintain the credential, either 100 units of continuing education must be completed every five years, or the board exam must be retaken near the end of the five-year cycle. The units claimed for credit fall under the purview of The Certification Board for Music Therapists. North Dakota, Nevada and Georgia have established licenses for music therapists. In the State of New York, the License for Creative Arts Therapies (LCAT) incorporates the music therapy credentials within their licensure.

United Kingdom:
Live music was used in hospitals after both World Wars as part of the treatment program for recovering soldiers. Clinical music therapy in Britain as it is understood today was pioneered in the 1960s and 1970s by French cellist Juliette Alvin whose influence on the current generation of British music therapy lecturers remains strong. Mary Priestley, one of Juliette Alvin’s students, created “analytical music therapy”. The Nordoff-Robbins approach to music therapy developed from the work of Paul Nordoff and Clive Robbins in the 1950/60s.

Practitioners are registered with the Health Professions Council and, starting from 2007, new registrants must normally hold a master’s degree in music therapy. There are master’s level programs in music therapy in Manchester, Bristol, Cambridge, South Wales, Edinburgh and London, and there are therapists throughout the UK. The professional body in the UK is the British Association for Music Therapy[98] In 2002, the World Congress of Music Therapy, coordinated and promoted by the World Federation of Music Therapy, was held in Oxford on the theme of Dialogue and Debate.[99] In November 2006, Dr. Michael J. Crawford and his colleagues again found that music therapy helped the outcomes of schizophrenic patients.

India:
The roots of musical therapy in India, can be traced back to ancient Hindu mythology, Vedic texts, and local folk traditions. It is very possible that music therapy has been used for hundreds of years in the Indian culture.

Suvarna Nalapat has studied music therapy in the Indian context. Her books Nadalayasindhu-Ragachikilsamrutam (2008), Music Therapy in Management Education and Administration (2008) and Ragachikitsa (2008) are accepted textbooks on music therapy and Indian arts.

The “Music Therapy Trust of India” is yet another venture in the country. It was started by Margaret Lobo.Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_therapy

Habitat :Broad Bean is native to north Africa and southwest Asia, and extensively cultivated elsewhere. A variety is provisionally recognized.

Does not occur in the wild. It was grown in ancient times (cultivated for 2-3 thousand years), but only by purposeful cultivation. In Russia, it has been cultivated since the 6th to 8th century. In the USSR, it was cultivated as basic fodder almost everywhere, but the cultivated area was not large (around 20 thousand hectares). The greatest areas of cultivation are in Byelorussia and Ukraine, the Baltic states, and the Altai region.

CLICK & SEE THE PICTURES…………...(01)..…....(1) ..…..(2)..……….Cultivation:
Broad beans have a long tradition of cultivation in Old World agriculture, being among the most ancient plants in cultivation and also among the easiest to grow. It is believed that along with lentils, peas, and chickpeas, they became part of the eastern Mediterranean diet in around 6000 BC or earlier. They are still often grown as a cover crop to prevent erosion, because they can over-winter and because as a legume, they fix nitrogen in the soil. These commonly cultivated plants can be attacked by fungal diseases, such as rust (Uromyces viciae-fabae) and chocolate spot (Botrytis fabae). It is also attacked by the black bean aphid (Aphis fabae).

The broad bean has high hardiness cvs. This means it can withstand rough climates, and in this case, cold ones. Unlike most legumes, the broad bean can be grown in soils with high salinity. However, it does prefer to grow in rich loams.

In much of the Anglophone world, the name broad bean is used for the large-seeded cultivars grown for human food, while horse bean and field bean refer to cultivars with smaller, harder seeds (more like the wild species) used for animal feed, though their stronger flavour is preferred in some human food recipes, such as falafel. The term fava bean (from the Italian fava, meaning “broad bean”) is sometimes used in English speaking countries, however the term broad bean is the most common name in the UK.

Culnilary Uses;
Broad beans are eaten while still young and tender, enabling harvesting to begin as early as the middle of spring for plants started under glass or over-wintered in a protected location, but even the main crop sown in early spring will be ready from mid to late summer. Horse beans, left to mature fully, are usually harvested in the late autumn. The young leaves of the plant can also be eaten either raw or cooked like spinach.

The beans can be fried, causing the skin to split open, and then salted and/or spiced to produce a savory crunchy snack. These are popular in China, Colombia, Peru (habas saladas), Mexico (habas con chile) and Thailand (where their name means “open-mouth nut”).

Broad bean purée with wild chicory is a typical Puglian dish in Italy.

In the Sichuan cuisine of China, broad beans are combined with soybeans and chili peppers to produce a spicy fermented bean paste called doubanjiang.

In most Arab countries, the fava bean is used for a breakfast dish called ful medames.

Fava beans are common in Latin American cuisines as well. In central Mexico, mashed fava beans are a common filling for many corn flour-based antojito snacks such as tlacoyos. In Colombia they are most often used whole in vegetable soups. Dried and salted fava beans are a popular snack in many Latin countries.

In Portugal, a fava bean (usually referred to as fava in Portuguese) is included in the bolo-rei (king cake), a Christmas cake. Traditionally, the person who gets fava has to buy the cake the following year.

In the Netherlands, they are traditionally eaten with fresh savory and some melted butter. When rubbed the velvet insides of the pods are a folk remedy against warts.

Broad beans are widely cultivated in the Kech and Panjgur districts of Balochistan Province in Pakistan, and in the eastern province of Iran. In the Balochi language, they are called bakalaink, and baghalee in Persian.

Medicinal uses:
Broad beans are rich in tyramine, and thus should be avoided by those taking monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors.

The ground dried beans have bee used to treat mouth sores. In New Mexico, a paste made of ground beans and hot water is applied to the chest and back as a treatment for pneumonia.

Raw broad beans contain the alkaloids vicine, isouramil and convicine, which can induce hemolytic anemia in patients with the hereditary condition glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency (G6PD). This potentially fatal condition is called “favism” after the fava bean.

Broad beans are rich in L-dopa, a substance used medically in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. L-dopa is also a natriuretic agent, which might help in controlling hypertension.

Areas of origin of the bean correspond to malarial areas. There are epidemiological and in vitro studies which suggest that the hemolysis resulting from favism acts as protection from malaria, because certain species of malarial protozoa such as Plasmodium falcipacrum are very sensitive to oxidative damage due to deficiency of the glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase enzyme, which would otherwise protect from oxidative damage via production of glutathione reductase.

The seed testas contain condensed tannins of the proanthocyanidins type that could have an inhibitory activity on enzymes

Medicinal Uses;
The ground dried beans have bee used to treat mouth sores. In New Mexico, a paste made of ground beans and hot water is applied to the chest and back as a treatment for pneumonia.

Other Uses;
*In ancient Greece and Rome, beans were used in voting; a white bean being used to cast a yes vote, and a black bean for no. Even today the word koukia is used unofficially, referring to the votes.

*In Ubykh culture, throwing beans on the ground and interpreting the pattern in which they fall was a common method of divination (favomancy), and the word for “bean-thrower” in that language has become a generic term for seers and soothsayers in general.

*In Italy, broad beans are traditionally sown on November 2, All Souls Day. Small cakes made in the shape of broad beans (though not out of them) are known as fave dei morti or “beans of the dead”. According to tradition, Sicily once experienced a failure of all crops other than the beans; the beans kept the population from starvation, and thanks were given to Saint Joseph. Broad beans subsequently became traditional on Saint Joseph’s Day altars in many Italian communities. Some people carry a broad bean for good luck; some believe that if one carries a broad bean, one will never be without the essentials of life. In Rome, on the first of May, Roman families traditionally eat fresh fava beans with Pecorino Romano cheese during a daily excursion in the Campagna. In Northern Italy, on the contrary, fava beans are traditionally fed to animals and some people, especially the elderly, might frown on human consumption. But in Liguria, Northern Italy too, fava beans are loved like in Rome, and consumed fresh, alone or with fresh Pecorino Sardo or with local salami from Sant’Olcese. In some Central Italian regions was once popular and recently discovered again as a more fancy food the “bagiana” a soup of fresh or dried fava beans seasoned with onions and beet leaves stir fried, before being added to the soup, in olive oil and lard (or bacon or cured ham’s fat).

*In Portugal, a Christmas cake called Bolo Rei (“King cake”) is baked with a fava bean inside. Whoever eats the slice containing it, is supposed to buy next year’s cake.

*In ancient Greece and Rome, beans were used as a food for the dead, such as during the annual Lemuria festival.

*In some folk legends, such as in Estonia and the common Jack and the Beanstalk story, magical beans grow tall enough to bring the hero to the clouds.

*The Grimm Brothers collected a story in which a bean splits its sides laughing at the failure of others. Dreaming of a bean is sometimes said to be a sign of impending conflict, though others said that they caused bad dreams.

*Pliny claimed that they acted as a laxative.

*European folklore also claims that planting beans on Good Friday or during the night brings good luck.

Disclaimer:
The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplements, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider.

You’ll feel this exercise more in the abdominal muscles — and less in the hip flexors — by gripping a roller with the backs of your thighs. That’s because recruiting the backs of your legs will prevent you from overworking the front of your legs and hips. The result is an intense workout for your abs.

On an exhale, contract your abdominals and, without dropping the roller, raise your tailbone and hips slightly off the floor. Simultaneously roll your head, shoulders and upper back off the floor, moving your body into a tight ball. Pause at the peak of the contraction, then slowly release down to the starting position. Repeat 12 to 16 times. Rest, change the cross of your legs and repeat for another set.

This is a great stretch for loosening up the outside of your hips and thighs. It you’re not limber enough to hold your foot, you can hook a strap or a towel around it to help you reach it.CLICK & SEESTEP-1. Lying on your back, bend your right knee into your chest. Keep your left leg extended straight out on the floor in front of you. Straighten your right leg, holding the outer edge of your right food with your left hand or using a strap. Press the thumb of your right hand to the top of your right thigh where it meets your torso.

STEP-2. Without allowing your right hip to roll completely off the floor (as you would in a lying spinal twist), move your right leg across your body to the left side until you feel a gentle stretch running from your outer right hip down the outside of your right thigh. Continue to press the right side of your buttock toward the floor (it’s OK if it lifts a few inches). Pause for three to six full breaths. Lower your leg and repeat on the other side.

A protruding belly button is commoner in boys and may run in families Everyone would love an eight pack abdomen, but for some it may remain just a dream. Their abdominal wall has unsightly bulges and protuberances, which may be a well rounded paunch or even hernia.

Some children have a protruding navel or belly button, which is noticed soon after the remnant of the umbilical cord falls off. When the baby cries or strains, the tummy bulges at the umbilicus. The swelling is called an umbilical hernia. It is commoner in boys. It may run in families and be associated with other diseases like thyroid deficiency or inborn errors of metabolism.

The foetus receives its nutrition through umbilical blood vessels that are attached to the navel. The abdominal muscles also fuse at that point. There is an area of weakness there which can cause a defect in the abdominal wall muscles. The intestines may protrude through this. Usually, the intestines can be pushed back when the child is quiet and lying down.

By the age of three or four years, the abdominal musculature develops and the hernia disappears on its own. It usually does not cause any symptoms till that time. If the skin over the hernia changes colour, or if the child starts to cry incessantly, consult a doctor. It may mean the intestine has got trapped in the hernia and its blood supply is being compromised, strangling the bowel.

Strapping the bulging belly button with plaster, tying it with a bandage or fixing a coin over it won’t help. On the contrary, it may be harmful as a piece of intestine may get caught in the bandage and stop the blood supply. This then becomes a medical emergency. If the hernia persists after the age of three, it needs to be surgically repaired.

Hernias can also suddenly appear near the umbilicus in adults. This “paraumbilical hernia” is situated just above the navel and occurs through a weakness in the abdominal wall muscles. It may be due to pregnancy, obesity or poor abdominal muscle tone. It may also appear if fluid accumulates in the abdomen as a result of kidney or liver disease. The hernia may contain fat or intestines.

Paraumbilical hernias that appear during pregnancy may disappear on their own. In others, they need to be surgically corrected, even if they are painless. Bits of bowel or other intestinal content can suddenly become trapped in them, precipitating an emergency. There is a band of fibrous tissue connecting and holding together the musculature of the two halves of the abdomen. If this is weak and separates out, it may cause a condition called “divarication of the rectus abdominus”. It is common in obesity. The affected area is usually long and stretches over the abdomen from the umbilicus to the rib cage. As the defect is large, the intestine does not become trapped inside. If there is no umbilical hernia, it can be left alone. Surgical repair is a variation of a “tummy tuck” and is done purely for cosmetic reasons.

If there is a small defect in the linea alba (fibrous structure running down the midline of the abdomen), a ping-pong ball sized bulge can occur at the spot. This is called an “epigastric hernia”. It needs to corrected.

About 75 per cent of hernias occur lower down in the groin area and are called “inguinal hernias”. They are commoner in men. They can extend from the lower part of the abdomen to the scrotum in men and to the labia in women. They are caused by a congenital defect in the abdominal wall. Some men push the contents of the hernia back into the abdomen and then use a “surgical truss” to hold it there.

The surgical treatment of hernias has changed over the years. Traditional techniques involved opening the abdomen and suturing the muscle layers. Hospital stays were prolonged and recovery slow. Now, laparoscopic repairs can be done, reducing the hospital stay to two or three days. Fine sterile surgical mesh can be used to cover the defect. The hernia is then less likely to recur as there is no tension on the layers of the abdominal muscles.

Some hernias can’t be prevented. Congenital abdominal wall defects are less likely to manifest as hernias if